Rs 10 crore to bridge Delhi and east India line

The iron bridge on the Delhi-Howrah rail corridor is a crucial link between Delhi and the entire east India. Also, this rail bridge caters to nearly 300 trains bound to the Old Delhi station every day.

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Rakesh Ranjan

New Delhi

May 12, 2018

UPDATED: May 12, 2018 04:49 IST

Loha Pul had over the years become ‘extremely dangerous’ and posed serious risk to safety.

HIGHLIGHTS

The iron bridge was commissioned in 1866

Construction of the new bridge has been stuck for the last 20 years

The bridge was built by the British to connect Delhi with Kolkata

With no hope in sight for early completion of the new rail bridge over Yamuna, railway authorities in Delhi have begun renovation of the 150-year-old "Loha Pul" (Iron Bridge) on the river. The new rail bridge, which has been stuck for the last 20 years, is likely to take another four to five years for completion and for this reason the Railways has decided to pump in `10 crore to strengthen the dilapidated iron bridge.

A senior northern railway official told MAIL TODAY that the iron bridge had over the years become "extremely dangerous" and posed serious risk to passenger safety. The bridge health index, which is measured on the scale of 1 to 5, had shown its condition deteriorating to 1, which is considered extremely poor.

Officials said the iron plates on the central deck of the bridge had corroded in the past four years where no repair work was carried out.

The iron bridge on the Delhi-Howrah rail corridor is a crucial link between Delhi and the entire east India.

Also, this rail bridge caters to nearly 300 trains bound to the Old Delhi station every day.

"The repair and maintenance work of Loha Pul will be completed by October this year.

The old structure had weakened considerably over time, prompting a speed restriction of maximum 20 kmph for passenger trains; for goods trains the speed limit was fixed at 10 kmph."

"After completion of repair work, speed limit will be gradually increased to 80 kmph," Northern Railways' chief spokesperson Nitin Chaudhary said. He said the old bridge would continue operation even after commissioning of the new bridge.

The iron bridge was commissioned in the year 1866. Having outlived its lifespan long back, the Indian Railways had sanctioned a new bridge in the year 1997-98.

However, the work was stalled due to lack of approval from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). After several modifications to the original plan, the ASI gave its nod to the project in 2016 and the work commenced.

"Assuming that the project will be completed soon, attention was diverted from the iron bridge and it went without maintenance for nearly four years. This left the bridge in a poor health," an official said. Seeing the depleting condition of the bridge, BJP MP from East Delhi Maheish Girri approached railway authorities for its maintenance.

"The foundation works and piers of new bridge have been completed and the work of steel superstructure is in progress. A state-of-the-art workshop has been set up near Pragati Maidan for fabrication of 26 steel girders of the new bridge," said RN Singh, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Delhi.

He claimed that the new bridge is likely to be commissioned by June 2019.

The creaking road-cum-railway bridge, officially called bridge number 249, is 150-yearold. The permanent bridge over the Yamuna helped usher in direct train connectivity between Calcutta and Delhi.

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